Northern Velebit National Park
Northern Velebit National Park | |
---|---|
Location | Lika-Senj County, Croatia |
Nearest city | Senj |
Area | 109 km2 (42 sq mi) |
Established | June 17, 1999 |
Visitors | 15,100 (in 2010)[1] |
Website | http://www.np-sjeverni-velebit.hr/ |
The Northern Velebit National Park (Croatian: Nacionalni park Sjeverni Velebit) is a national park in Croatia that covers 109 km2 of the northern section of the Velebit mountains, the largest mountain range in Croatia. Because of the abundant variety of this part of the Velebit range, the area was upgraded from a nature reserve[2] in 1999, and opened as a national park in September the same year.
The whole of the Velebit range is a "nature park", a lesser conservation category. Another national park on Velebit is the Paklenica on its southern side.
In 2017, the beech forests within the national park were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe because of their testimony to the ecological history of forest dynamics within Europe since the last Ice Age.[3]
The park
The park reserve is protected and visitors are restricted to designated trails. Inside the reserve is the Visibaba (Galanthus) botanical reserve, with an abundance of the endemic Croatian subspecies of Sibiraea altaiensis, and the Zavižan–Balinovac–Velika kosa botanical reserve, famous for its outstanding collection of mountain flora species. Inside the reserve is the well-known Velebit Botany Garden, founded by pharmacology professor and botanist Fran Kušan in 1967.[4]
The Park is criss-crossed with mountaineering trails. The best-known is Premužić's Trail, named after its constructor, the forester Ante Premužić who built it in late 1933. The path runs through the most beautiful and most interesting parts of the park. From the numerous peaks in the surroundings there are magnificent views of the Adriatic Sea and its islands (Pag, Rab, Goli Otok, Prvić and Krk) as well as of the continental side.
Adding to the Park's cultural value are the numerous ruins of so-called "summer lodges". These remain from when Velebit was populated by shepherds and cattle farmers. On its coastal slopes are many ruined houses, lodges and stone walls, all the remaining evidence of a lost local population.
The Zavižan (1676 m) peak is within the park, the highest meteorological station in Croatia.
Special reservations
The special reservations in the park are many locales called Hajdučki kukovi, Rožanski kukovi, Lukina jama (one of the deepest caves systems in the world), botanical reserve "Visibaba", Borov vrh forest reserve, Zavižan-Balinovac-Velika kosa botanical reserve and the famous Velebit botanical garden. In the southern-end is the Štirovača special forest vegetation reserve. The names of Hajdučki kukovi and Rožanski kukovi come from a folk name given to large stone masses which rise up over the surroundings of the Velebit mountains. They are in the center of the park, but are not a regular part of it, access to them is restricted to scientific researchers and educational visitors.
Hajdučki kukovi
Hajdučki kukovi is one of the Kukovi group of
The kukovi group has around 40 summits exceeding 1600 m. The area around Hajdučki kukovi has a complex underground drainage system. The terrain is much wilder than around Rožanski kukovi, and there are parts where even today no human foot has ever trod.
Rožanski kukovi
The first "kuk",
In an area of about 18 km2 there are more than fifty stony peaks, all over 1600 m, some with bizarre shapes of
The best-known and most popular sights are Novotnijev kuk, Rossilijev kuk and Premužićev kuk.
Climate
Climate data for Northern Velebit National Park (Zavižan) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) |
13.8 (56.8) |
16.5 (61.7) |
19.4 (66.9) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.2 (81.0) |
20.6 (69.1) |
19.2 (66.6) |
14.6 (58.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −0.7 (30.7) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
1.4 (34.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
10.1 (50.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
16.6 (61.9) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.6 (54.7) |
8.4 (47.1) |
3.2 (37.8) |
0.5 (32.9) |
7.2 (45.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.5 (25.7) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
1.2 (34.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.9 (49.8) |
12.5 (54.5) |
12.4 (54.3) |
8.9 (48.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
3.8 (38.8) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −6.1 (21.0) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
3.8 (38.8) |
7.0 (44.6) |
9.4 (48.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.2 (43.2) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
1.1 (34.0) |
Record low °C (°F) | −24.5 (−12.1) |
−28.6 (−19.5) |
−22.6 (−8.7) |
−14.5 (5.9) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−11.5 (11.3) |
−16.8 (1.8) |
−24.2 (−11.6) |
−28.6 (−19.5) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 144.7 (5.70) |
147.2 (5.80) |
147.0 (5.79) |
179.3 (7.06) |
154.7 (6.09) |
156.4 (6.16) |
86.5 (3.41) |
121.8 (4.80) |
180.4 (7.10) |
215.9 (8.50) |
245.6 (9.67) |
204.0 (8.03) |
1,983.4 (78.09) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 14.7 | 14.1 | 14.4 | 16.1 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.0 | 15.4 | 161.3 |
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) | 29.1 | 27.2 | 29.8 | 27.9 | 9.9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 4.7 | 16.1 | 27.6 | 173.9 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
80.6 | 79.8 | 80.4 | 81.1 | 78.6 | 77.1 | 72.6 | 73.5 | 77.9 | 80.8 | 82.6 | 81.4 | 78.9 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 99.2 | 115.8 | 145.7 | 156.0 | 217.0 | 237.0 | 297.6 | 282.1 | 204.0 | 142.6 | 96.0 | 89.9 | 2,082.9 |
Percent possible sunshine | 35 | 40 | 40 | 41 | 51 | 55 | 67 | 68 | 55 | 42 | 34 | 34 | 49 |
Source: Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service[6][7] |
See also
References
- ^ "DZS: U nacionalnim parkovima 2010. više posjetitelja". mint.hr (in Croatian). 8 March 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ ISBN 1-85284-406-X
- ^ "Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Botanički vrt PMF-a". hirc.botanic.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ ISBN 953-178-097-8
- ^ "Zavižan Climate Normals" (PDF). Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Mjesečne vrijednosti za Zavizan u razdoblju1953−2014" (in Croatian). Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service. Retrieved 3 December 2015.